Writers and editors are used to keeping reference books close at hand or bookmarked online: dictionaries, search engines, style manuals. Even so, there are times we’re simply at a loss. How do you find a grammar or usage rule when you don’t know what it’s called or where to look it up?
In writing and editing, consistency is assumed to be a good thing. . . . But at some level, consistency should cease to be a goal. First,
Copyeditors read copy before it is in final form in order to fix anything that’s wrong with its grammar, spelling, logic, structure, accuracy, consistency, or coherence. They make corrections, ask questions, and make suggestions. They might rewrite. They usually defer to a style guide (like . . .
